2022–23 Irish Cup Explained

Irish Cup
Year:2022–23
Country:Northern Ireland
Num Teams:128 (incl. qualifying)
32 (main competition)
Defending Champions:Crusaders
Champions:Crusaders
Count:6
Runner-Up:Ballymena United
Matches:120
Goals:507
Prevseason:2021–22
Nextseason:2023–24

The 2022–23 Irish Cup (known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) was the 143rd edition of the Irish Cup, the premier knockout cup competition in Northern Irish football since its inauguration in 1881.[1] The winners qualified for the 2023–24 Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

Crusaders won the cup on 7 May 2023 with a 4–0 win over Ballymena United (a repeat of the previous season's final), their second consecutive Irish Cup win and third overall.

Results

The league tier of each club at the time of entering the competition is listed in parentheses.

First round

101 clubs entered the first round of the main competition, with the first round draw being made on 7 July 2022. The matches were played on 13 August 2022.[2]

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Second round

The second round draw was made on 17 August 2022. The matches were played on 17 September 2022.[3]

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Third round

The third round draw was made on 20 September 2022. The matches were played on 29 October and 5 November 2022.[4]

|-|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|29 October 2022|-|-|colspan="3" style="background:#E8FFD8;"|5 November 2022|-|}

Fourth round

The fourth round draw was made on 1 November 2022. The matches were played on 26 November 2022.[5]

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Fifth round

The fifth round draw was made on 6 December 2022. The matches were played on 6 and 7 January 2023.[6]

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Sixth round

The sixth round draw was made on 7 January 2023. The matches were played on 3 and 4 February 2023.[7]

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Quarter-finals

The 8 sixth round winners entered the quarter-finals. The draw was made on 4 February 2023, and the matches were played on 3 and 4 March 2023.[8]

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Semi-finals

The 4 quarter-final winners entered the semi-finals. The draw was made on 8 March 2023, and the matches will be played on 31 March and 1 April 2023.[9]

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Final

Ballymena United and Crusaders qualified to the final for the second consecutive year and their second Irish Cup final against each other. Crusaders won 2–1 in the previous season's final. The final was held on 7 May 2023 and ended with a 4-0 win for Crusaders.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tennent's Irish Cup. Irish Football Association. 16 July 2019.
  2. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Whisky Irish Cup first round results. Irish Football Association. 2 January 2023.
  3. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Whisky Irish Cup second round results. Irish Football Association. 2 January 2023.
  4. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Whisky Irish Cup third round results. Irish Football Association. 2 January 2023.
  5. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Whisky Irish Cup fourth round results. Irish Football Association. 2 January 2023.
  6. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Whisky Irish Cup fifth round results. Irish Football Association. 2 January 2023.
  7. News: Irish Cup: Larne to host Blues in sixth round as Reds face Coleraine. BBC Sport . 2 January 2023.
  8. Web site: Irish Cup quarter-final draw is made. Irish Football Association. 4 February 2023.
  9. Web site: Seaview and Mourneview to host Irish Cup semi-finals. Irish Football Association. 8 March 2023.
  10. Web site: Samuel Gelston's Irish Cup final date confirmed. Irish Football Association. 6 December 2022.